The call for Willie O’Ree’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame reached the U.S. Congress Tuesday.

Rep. Michael Quigley, a Democrat from Chicago, took to the floor of the House of Representatives and said that “there are few players worthier to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and it is long overdue that Willie be added to that list.”

Quigley referred to O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player, as “the ‘Jackie Robinson’ of hockey” who overcame “racial slurs…and blindness in his right eye” to become “a trusted champion for diversity, a proponent of inclusion, and an inspiration for so many young players both on and off the ice.”

“Each February we celebrate Black History Month as well as ‘Hockey is for EveryoneMonth,‘ and no one embodies both of those tributes as profoundly as living legend Willie O’Ree,” Quigley said on the House floor. “I thank him for his continued effort to increase access for all people of all backgrounds to get out on the ice and play the greatest game” in the world.

His House speech adds to the effort to persuade member’s the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee to induct O’Ree, who became the NHL’s first black player on Jan. 18, 1958 when his Boston Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens at the old Montreal Forum.

O’Ree, a forward, didn’t have a long NHL career – only 45 games over two seasons with 4 goals and 10 assists.

However, advocates are pushing for O’Ree’s Hall entry in the Builders category, focusing on his contributions as a mentor, role model, and advocate in growing hockey in communities previously overlooked by the sport.

According to the Hall, the criteria for entry as a Builder is “Coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”

O’Ree fits those qualifications, supports say, because he has been an inspiration to a generation of young hockey players and hockey fans of color.

He has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998, traveling across the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone”initiative.

O’Ree is also a revered figure to many of the NHL’s players, who seek him out for guidance and advice.

The Hall’s Selection Committee is gearing up its decision-making process for the 2018 induction class.

Committee members have until April 15 to submit names of those who they think should be in the Hall of Fame. Those nominees will be debated and voted on during an Elections Meeting in June. The annual Hall of Fame induction occurs in November.

Individuals can weigh in on who they think should be nominated for the Hall in the Builders, Players and Referees/Linesmen categories through a process called public submissions.

The public submissions deadline is March 15. Here is a linkon how the process works and you can make a submission.

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Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

Selection Committee members have until April 15 to submit names of who they think are Hall-worthy. Those nominees are debated and voted on during an Elections Meeting in June. The annual Hall induction takes place in November.

While the Selection Committee has the most say in this process, there is an outlet for public input.

Its called the public submissions and it allows people to submit who they think are worthy of Hall entry in the Player, Referee/Linesman and Buildercategories.

The deadline for public submissions is March 15, so time is of the essence. Here is a link to how the process works and how you can make a submission.

It doesn’t guarantee that O’Ree will be nominated, but it lets Selection Committee members know that there’s heavy of support to let the NationalHockey League’s first black player into the the hockey shrine.

From hockey fans to players to hockey analysts, there are plenty of folks out there who want to see O’Ree in the Hall of Fame in the Builder’s category.

Change.org has a petitioncalling for O’Ree’s Hall induction for his “significant contributions to the game as a pioneer of the sport.”

Thirteen members city government of Fredericton, New Brunswick – O’Ree’s home town in Canada – sent a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame urging O’Ree’s induction. Fredericton Member of ParliamentMatt DeCourcey added his voice with a floor speech last month in the House of Commons.

“A member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame (and ) the Order of Canada, there remains but one honor to be bestowed this person who left such an indelible mark on this sport,” DeCourcey said. “Mr. Speaker, for his dedication as a builder, I am sure Frederictonians, New Brunswickers, Canadians and hockey fans around the world share the view that it is past time that Willie O’Ree be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

“He changed the game and he changed society and he changed minds,” Karl Subban wrote. “He changed hockey, which is now for everyone. Hockey needed him and so does the Hockey Hall of Fame. The time is right.”

No question for me. The work he has done as a Builder over the last 20+ years is incredible. He's still pounding the pavement, flying all over the place at age 82, to share his story and include everyone. https://t.co/gRUvYfd1ZB

The criteria for entry in the Hall of Fame as a Builder is “Coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”

O’Ree fits this category because he has helped change the face of the game, not just by for becoming the first black man to play in the NHL when he took to the old Montreal Forum ice on Jan. 18, 1958 as a forward for the Boston Bruins – but he’s done since.

He has been an inspiration to a generation of young hockey players and fans of color. They look at this still-fit 82-year-old man, learn about the racial abuse he suffered in order to make it to the pros, and how he played in the NHL and minor leagues despite being blind in his right eye, and say “if he can do it, so can I.”

O’Ree has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998, crisscrossing the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

His impact goes beyond getting more kids of color to lace on skates and grab sticks. O’Ree has also been a father figure, sounding board and role model for many of the minority players in the NHL today.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds recently said “Willie is not only a hero to me in hockey, but a hero in life.”

Pittsburgh Penguins tough guy forward Ryan Reaves vowed to have a big game in honor of O’Ree, who was in the house last month for the Pens-Kings game at PPG Paints Arena.

It was an honor to have you at morning skate, Willie O'Ree!

Coach Sullivan: “Willie is a testament to perseverance. He might have faced more adversity than any of us. I think he’s a great example of dedication. He’s been a great ambassador to the sport.”#HockeyIsForEveryonepic.twitter.com/v1b63RgPD8

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA Mike Marson can relate to what Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly endured when four Chicago Blackhawks “fans” racially taunted him as he sat in the press box at the United Center last Saturday.

Mike Marson was drafted by the Washington Capitals at age 18 in 1974.

“One can only imagine what it must have felt like when a certain 18 year old was all by himself against such bad form on and off the ice,” Marson told me.

Marson doesn’t have to imagine it. He lived it his rookie year with the expansion Capitals in 1974-75. He was the National Hockey League’s second black player, entering the league 16 years after Willie O’Ree broke in with the Boston Bruins.

Marson expressed disgust that black players are being targeted with racial slurs and disdain for the fans – and sometimes players – who utter them.

“It’s a shame that pro hockey in all its greatness still has these low points,” he told me.

Bill Riley echoed Marson’s sentiment. Riley, a forward, joined the Capitals shortly after Marson. They say misery loves company, but Riley said he wouldn’t wish the racial vitriol that he and Marson endured on anyone.

“They referred to Mike Marson and I as round ball players in Detroit in the mid seventies and wasn’t (just) the fans,” Riley told me. “Hard to believe that garbage still exists 40 plus years later.”

The “fans” who were removed and subsequently banned from Blackhawks home games showered Smith-Pelly with a chorus of “basketball, basketball, basketball,” a not-too-thinly veiled message that he should be a power forward in the National Basketball Association, not the NHL.

Bill Riley and Mike Marson were teammates on the Washington Capitals in the mid-1970s. They experienced the same racists taunts that Capitals forward Devente Smith-Pelly endured in Chicago. Photos/Washngton Capitals).

“It’s pretty obvious what that means,” Smith-Pelly said of the taunts. “Whether it’s that word or any other word, I got the idea. And I’m sure they got the idea, too. Just one word, and that’s really all it takes.”

Marson and Riley didn’t go public about what they went through when they were playing.

Neither wanted to be viewed as complainers or malcontents because they thought it would be a sure way to get a one-way ticket to the minor leagues and hockey obscurity.

So they suffered in silence. Riley praises Smith-Pelly and other black players in the NHL for stepping up and speaking out against racist behavior on the ice and in the stands.

Pretty embarrassing that this still happens. Doesn't shock me though which is the saddest part of all. Those ppl should be banned from every rink in the NHL #ignorance@NHL@NHLBlackhawks

Boston Bruins Head Coach Milt Schmidt and General Manager Lynn Patrick sat down their rookie forward, a call-up from the Quebec Aces, before his debut against the Montreal Canadiens in the old Forum and told him “Willie O’Ree, we brought you up because we think you can add a spark to the team.”

‘”Don’t worry about anything else,”‘ O’Ree recalled them telling him. ‘”Just go out and play the game, the organization is behind you 100 percent.”‘

O’Ree didn’t realize the gravity of that January 18, 1958 talk until after the Bruins blanked the Habs 3-0. O’Ree didn’t register a point on the stat sheet that night, but he made a mark in history as the National Hockey League’s first black player.

“I didn’t even know I broke the color barrier until I read it in the newspaper the next day,” O’Ree told me recently.

Hockey honored O’Ree on Wednesday for the 60th anniversary of his feat, a celebration that really began over the weekend in Boston.

But Wednesday was the big day. The Canadiens were in Boston to play the Bruins at TD Garden. Before the game, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh proclaimed January 18 as “Willie O’Ree Day.” The city also announced plans to refurbish a street hockey rink and name it in O’Ree’s honor.

“Willie’s speed, his skill and sheer perseverance earned him a job in a six-team National Hockey League where jobs were, indeed scarce – 60 years ago,” NHL Commissioner GaryBettman said. “We celebrate not only the NHL games he played but the countless thousands of boys and girls he has inspired since becoming our ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ ambassador in 1998.”

The league pulled out all the stops Wednesday. O’Ree dropped a ceremonial puck before the B’s-Habs game. Players wore Willie O’Ree 60th anniversary patches commemorative patches on their jerseys.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

O’Ree didn’t have a long NHL career. He only played 45 games over the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons and tallied 4 goals and 10 assists. He played those games carrying a secret: He was legally blind in his right eye, the result of being hit by a puck.

Still, he enjoyed a lengthy minor league career, mainly in the old Western Hockey League where he scored 328 goals and 311 assists with the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls from 1961-62 to 1973-74.

Several hockey aficionados are hoping that O’Ree gets more propers beyond the 60th anniversary celebration.

Folks from filmmaker Mason to retired NHL player-turned-TV analyst Anson Carter believe O’Ree should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder’s category for his contributions to the game in mentoring many of the NHL’s minority players and for extending hockey’s reach to communities of color

San Jose Sharks forward Joel Ward suggested that the NHL should retire O’Ree’s Number 22 league-wide the same way Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s Number 42 in 1997. Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier when he broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

“I would like to be in the Hall of Fame. I mean, who wouldn’t?” O’Ree told me. “I’d be thrilled and honored to be selected and go into the hall.”

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Art Dorrington, the first black ice hockey player to sign a professional contract, passed away on Friday at age 87.

Art Dorrington was a scorer on the ice and a community activist off it.

Dorrington was a high-scoring forward in the old Eastern Hockey League, EasternAmateur Hockey League and International Hockey League. He played for the AtlanticCity Sea Gulls, Johnstown Jets, Washington Lions and Philadelphia Ramblers.

He tallied 163 goals and 157 assists in 345 EHL, EAHL and IHL games. His scoring prowess caught the attention of the New York Rangers. The team signed Dorrington to a professional contract in 1950, but he never appeared in a National Hockey League game.

The NHL wouldn’t see its first black player until forward Willie O’Reebroke in with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

Dorrington was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, but made Atlantic City, New Jersey, his home after his playing days were over. In 1998, he founded the Art Dorrington Ice Hockey Foundation , a non-profit program that gives the seaside city’s low-income youth a chance to learn life skills through the prism of hockey.

Art Dorrington, left, was the first black player to sign a professional contract. Willie O’Ree, right, was the NHL’s first black player. Both have ice rinks named in their honor (Photo/Tom Briglia/PhotoGraphics).

Dorrington loved Atlantic City, and the city loved him back. In 2015, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian proclaimed March 15 as Art Dorrington Day. In 2012, city officials named the Boardwalk Hall’s ice rink after him.

“He was a true champion,” his daughter, Judah Dorrington, told The Atlantic City newspaper. “He had a major impact on this city.”

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Editor’s Note: The Color of Hockey is pleased to feature this post written by Erica L. Ayala, a multi-talented New York-based sportswriter, blogger, podcaster, and general media force of nature. She has her own site, ericalayala.com, co-hosts “The Founding Four,” a podcast that focuses on the National Women’s Hockey League, and has written for Excelle Sports, SBNation’s “The Ice Garden,” FanRag Sports, and The Victory Press.

Davis brings an extensive amount of experience from the corporate sector to her new role. Previously, she worked on corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts at firms such as the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and, most recently, Teneo, a CEO advisory firm.

She joins Michele Roberts (Executive Director, NBA Players Association), Lisa Borders (President, WNBA), Katrina Adams (President, United States Tennis Association) – to name a few – as women of color in executive roles in professional sports.

In 2012, Davis was profiled with First LadyMichelle Obama in Essence magazine’s 28 Most Influential Black Women in America. She has been named to The Business Journal’s 100 Most Influential Women and Fast Company’s100 Most Creative People in Business.

As an executive, Davis is no doubt a first star. How will that translate to professional hockey? The Color of Hockey caught up with the Spelman College alumna on her second day on the job to discuss the league’s diversity and inclusion efforts such as Hockey is forEveryoneand the Declaration of Principles, as well as the state of professional women’s hockey.

Washington Capitals All Star forward Alex Ovechkin, kneeling, with players from the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, a member of the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone program (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

“I have a lot to learn about about the sport and the game,” Davis said. “I hope that we’ll have a chance to follow up in the coming months and hopefully you’ll see us making some progress in many of the areas that you outlined.”

As with many insider terms, CSR is often perceived solely in the light of companies donating money and other resources to a cause or community. However, Davis is eager to blend her corporate experience with the goals of the NHL to expand CSR to something more involved.

“When people typically think about corporate social responsibility they often digress to the notion that CSR is philanthropy,” Davis said in a phone interview last Tuesday.

“While a part of CSR is clearly philanthropy the concept of CSR really refers to business and societal practices that operate together to benefit a company or an organization like the NHL stakeholders,” she added.

Addressing the societal practices and culture surrounding hockey includes stakeholders such as coaches, owners, players, fans and the greater community.

Even one of those groups is likely to have varied opinions, let alone all of them. However, Davis feels that hockey and the culture it has cultivated is uniquely designed with certain fundamentals already embedded.

“I think that hockey is uniquely in a position because of the attributes of the games – the humility of the players, the leadership that comes from the way the sport is organized and played. I’m hoping to continue to contribute in bridging that societal piece and that business piece in a way that allows the game to grow and expand its fan base.”

However, there are times when the hockey community has fallen short of inclusion for some. From homophobic language to microaggressions in the broadcast booth, the NHL has endured a fair share of criticism in the last calendar year alone. Add to that limited exposure and professional opportunities for the women’s game and the job of corporate social responsibility and community engagement seems daunting.

Yet, embracing the diversity of hockey is something the league seems eager to do more effectively. In addition to its Hockey is For Everyone initiative, the league has hosted activities that focus awareness on such areas as LGBTQ, ethnicity and gender equality, socio-economic status and people with disabilities.

One such event was the 2017 Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend. It was there that Davis got her first real exposure to the game. She was working with the league as a consultant for diversity and inclusion at the time.

“I was bowled over with excitement and fascination by the commitment that so many of these coaches and others sponsors and mentors had for the game,” Davis said. “I also have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of kids of color who were exposed to the sport and knowledgeable and fantastic at the sport.”

In addition to the Hockey is For Everyone, the NHL participated in the development of the Declaration of Principles. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and other leaders in hockey unveiled the eight principles in September that state:

Hockey should be an enjoyable family experience; all stakeholders— organizations, players, parents, siblings, coaches, referees, volunteers and rink operators — play a role in this effort.

All hockey organizations – regardless of size or level of competition – bring value to players and families in their ability to deliver a positive family experience.

Hockey programs should be age-appropriate for all players, accounting for each individual’s physical, emotional and cognitive development.

All hockey programs should provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status. Simply put, hockey is for everyone.

Davis is now part of a team that seeks to bring these principles to life.

Part of the conversation over the past several years has been where women in hockey fits into such initiatives.

Both the professional Canadian Women’s HockeyLeague and the National Women’s Hockey League have enjoyed partnerships of some kind with individual NHL markets, including the opportunity for the women to play on NHL ice.

These partnerships are important, but have not trickled down to the salaries of female players quite yet. In October,The Ice Garden released salary detailsfor both women’s hockey leagues. Salaries are said to range from $2,000-$10,000 in the CWHL and $5,000-$7,000 in the NWHL.

When asked about the women’s game, Davis said she was unaware of any specific plans. But she noted that “There is a great deal of support and enthusiasm (within the league) about finding new ways to engage women and women in the sport of hockey…”

Damon Kwame Mason, a talented filmmaker and good friend, is as passionate about minorities in hockey as I am – if not more.

He gave his all to produce and direct “Soul on Ice, Past, Present & Future,” an award-winning black hockey history documentary. Now Kwame is giving his all to push for the inductions of Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player, and Herb Carnegie, a black man who the late hockey legend Jean Beliveaucalled one of the best players not to play in the NHL, into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Damon Kwame Mason (right) interviewed hockey great Herb Carnegie before he passed away in March 2012.

On a day the Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2017, Kwame wrote a passionate Facebook post laying out the case for letting O’Ree and Carnegie into hockey’s shrine. Below is his eloquent and thoughtful post:

As most of you know I made the documentary Soul On Ice: Past, Present & Future which is about the history and contributions of black athletes in hockey, the subject of diversity and inclusion in the game has become something that I am passionate about and as a fan of the game I have taken it on my back to do my part to help grow this beautiful game. I don’t have a huge platform but I feel like I am doing ok and hope it will grow. I still am blessed to be able to screen the film for audiences and on special occasions with the support of the NHL I get to be apart of q&a’s with guys like Willie O’ree and Bryce Salvador. I feel like since the film has come out I have a new purpose and I will do what ever I can to make sure minority children all around the WORLD (yeah I think big lol) gives the beautiful game of Hockey a chance. With that being said here’s something I wanted to run by you all.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 2018

I will try not to make this a long rant but if it is my apologies in advance.

The HOF class of 2017 has been inducted this past Monday and I would like to congratulate all the new members as they are all well deserved.

But I’d like to speak about two men that I feel have been deserving of this honour for a very long time. The two men I speak of are Herbert H Carnegie and Willie O’ree.

You can make it into the Hall Of Fame as either a player or a builder of the game. Mr. Carnegie did not have a chance to play in the NHL and Mr. O’ree did not have a huge impact on the game to be put into the Player category. But they can and should be inducted as Builders and here is why.

Willie O’ree has worked with the NHL for 30 years in there Diversity Task Force. The program was put together to help introduce and give opportunities to play Hockey directing their efforts to under privileged children in the United States. The program started out small, 5 in total, 30 years later there are over 30 in North America. Willie flies around the country countless amounts of times to give speeches, and visits these children to inspire them to not just continue and love the game of hockey but to get an education and be good people. I have witness the long lines, long stares and countless questions about that history making day when he entered the National Hockey League. Needless to say at the age of 82 years old, that’s right 82 years old he still gets on a plane when ever asked and continues to speak and promote the game of hockey to minorities all over the county. THAT IN MY OPINION IN BUILDING THE GAME.

Herbert H Carnegie on the ice was considered one of the best to play the game in his era. He had a 17 year long career starting in 1938 and ending in 1954. Hall of fame inductee Jean Beliveau had the opportunity to have Herb as a mentor and has stated in the past that Herb should have played in the NHL because he was just that good. Having to watch his peers go on to have careers in the NHL Herb held his head high and continued to win scoring titles and MVP awards. He lead his pro teams to 4 different championships, voted MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 3 YEARS IN A ROW 1947, 1948 and 1949. Again, even though he was the best leagues just below the NHL he was never given the change to play in the big leagues.
But that is not what this is about. This is about why he should be inducted as a builder in the 2018 HOF class.

Herb Carnegie checking his skates out before playing with the Quebec Aces.

Herb played centre to the first All Black line in semi pro hockey inspiring future black players that heard or seen them play like Willie Oree. After his career was over he established the FUTURE ACES HOCKEY SCHOOL in 1958, THE FIRST REGISTERED HOCKEY SCHOOL in Canada. As an inventor Mr Carnegie created a hockey instructional board called the Carnegie System (later called Coach a Boy which you can see used by coaches to this day). As an inventor he created a hockey game called PASS AND SCORE endorsed by legendary coach Punch Imlach and and Hall of fame member Frank Mahovlich. The FUTURE ACES philosophy he developed for the Hockey school has become a tool to build character in public schools all across Canada. In 1990 Herb Carnegie was featured in Marvel Comics Spider Man as he helped the web slinger fight off criminals trying to ship drugs in Hockey pucks. Lastly Herb Carnegie carries the Order of Canada, Queen Elizabeth Diamond, Golden, and Silver Jubilee Medal. He has been inducted into 9 sports hall of fames across Canada… when will he have his day in the biggest one.

So with that being said, I would like to figure out a way to get an online petition going to with at least 100,000 signatures that I can hand in to the Hall Of Fame gatekeepers to get these in as they are well deserving and MAN OH MAN how BIG WOULD THAT BE FOR THE GAME OF HOCKEY. It would say so much and would go a long way to the idea of HOCKEY IS FOR EVERYONE.

Please leave a comment and any suggestions you may have on how I should go about this mission.

p.s I reached out to Hall of Fame member Luc Robitaille about inducting Herb Carnegie into this years class with a 17 page outline on why Herb should be inducted. Obviously it was not enough, this year I want to add a petition to it and include Willie O’ree

Have a great day and let me know what you think and I would also love your help.

Kwame

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When Ryerson University hockey forward Kryshanda Green had to choose what number to wear on her jersey this season, she quickly picked No.8 in honor of a certain Washington Capitals player.

While high-scoring Alex Ovechkin is currently Washington’s Great Eight, Green’s choice pays homage to a different No. 8 who she thinks is pretty great: her grandfather, Bill Riley.

Ryerson University’s Kryshanda Green (Photo/Alex D’Addese).

Riley, who the number for the Capitals from 1976 to 1979, was the National Hockey League’s third black player. He followed in the skates of teammate Mike Marson and Willie O’Ree, who became the league’s first black player when he joined the Boston Bruins in 1958.

“My grandfather is like a a huge influence on me, he’s very inspiring,” Green told me recently. “I know he dealt with a lot of adversity. His situation is something that I can be proud of for the rest of my life.”

Green took Riley’s number as a personal reminder of the obstacles that he had to overcome and the perseverance he displayed in not letting anyone – including some racist fans and fellow players – or anything prevent him from achieving his goals.

“It was more when I was in the minor leagues – I went through a lot in the minors,” Riley, who grew up in Nova Scotia, told me recently. “I got called names down in the U.S., I didn’t even know what they meant. I had to ask another black guy. They used to call me ‘chitlin.‘ I didn’t know what a chitlin was. We don’t have chitlins up in Canada, we don’t eat chitlins in Canada.”

Riley appeared in 139 NHL games over five seasons with the Capitals and Winnipeg Jets, notching 31 goals and 30 assists.

Bill Riley, the NHL’s third black player, donned the No. 8 for the Washington Capitals long before Alex Ovechkin made it famous.(Photos/Washington Capitals).

Green says she’s taking lessons from Riley’s perseverance and using it to revive a promising hockey career that hit a big red stop sign three seasons ago.

Green began her Canadian collegiate hockey career at London, Ontario’s WesternUniversity in 2012-13. She tallied 9 goals and 13 assists for the Mustangsand earned Ontario University Athletics’ All-Rookie Team honors that season.

But success on ice didn’t translate to success in the classroom. Hitting the books wasn’t her top priority.

“I wasn’t ready academically,” she said. “I wasn’t willing to do the work. I wasn’t willing to study or put dedication toward academics. I was certainly willing to play hockey. I did that day in and day out, anytime I could. I loved it. But academically, I hadn’t matured in the same way, and that was my downfall.”

Frustrated, Green left Western and quit hockey altogether – moves that broke her grandfather’s heart.

“It really disappointed me because I knew how good she was,” said Riley, 66. “She has a gear that a lot of players will never get, no matter how hard they work. She is so explosive to the outside, she’s unbelievable. And she shoots the puck a ton – she fires bullets for a girl that small. She was too darn good not to play.”

“To be honest, I think my grandfather was the most upset,” Green recalled. “He was like ‘What are you doing? How can you stop playing? You’ve got to get through this.'”

But Green said was stubbornly determined not to return to the rink. She filled the hockey void by getting in touch with her artistic side.

She collaborated with Toronto-area hip-hop artists and even released her own EP and video as the artist known as Krash.

But even as she busted rhymes, hockey remained on her mind.

“It was something that I knew I wasn’t done with, that I finished too early,” Green told me. “It was something that I was tired of keeping me up at night.”

While performing music was fun, working regular jobs in Toronto area warehouses and for a film services company from 2013 to 2015 were hardly inspiring, Green confessed.

Fortunately, a life-line came in the form of a phone call from Lisa Haley, Ryerson’s women’s hockey head coach and former assistant coach on the Canadian women’s national team that won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Haley wanted to know if Green was interested in playing hockey again. Krash dropped the mic and grabbed a stick.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get another chance to finish what I started after all these years, so I took it because I thought that getting an education was the most valuable thing for me to get right now,” Green said.

Green was red-shirted at Ryerson last season, meaning she didn’t appear in single game for the Rams. That gave her time to focus on academics, which resulted in a 3.5 grade-point average last year, she said.

“This year, I’m currently a 3.0. After exams, hopefully, it will be higher,” Green, a politics and governance major, told me. “It’s the most important part.”

Her on-ice stats are pretty good, too. The 5-foot-4 forward from Brampton, Ontario, leads the Rams in scoring with 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points in 12 games. She’s fourth in the OUA in points; fourth in goals; and eighth in assists.

“It’s been amazing,” Green said of her success after the long hockey layoff. “I have a greater appreciation for the game that I never thought I’d have. It feels like home again…It’s honestly such a privilege for me to get on the ice. For me, just being able to step on the ice and play a game is huge.”

Kryshanda Green is thrilled to be playing hockey again after a lengthy layoff (Photo by Alex D’Addese/ Ryerson Rams Athletics)

Green’s work ethic and dedication earned her an assistant captain’s “A” on her jersey this season, a symbol that she’s a team leader.

“She is highly skilled, she’s got blazing speed on the ice, but the bigger impact of ‘Krash’s’ legacy on our program has been her leadership,” Haley said. “She is the picture of accountability, integrity and perseverance. These are key qualities that every successful team embodies and she brought these to the rink every single day last year, knowing she wouldn’t even play a game the entire season.”

Just what proud grandpa Bill Riley likes to hear.

“She’s blowing the doors off her grades,” he said of his granddaughter. “And she’s blowing the doors off the hockey.”

Joel Ward has an idea for the National Hockey League to honor the history and growing impact of black players in the sport: Retire the number 22 Willie O’Ree wore with the Boston Bruins when he became the league’s first black player in 1958.

“I definitely think Willie should be recognized for sure,” Ward told ESPNSunday, the media day before his San Jose Sharks face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. “It’s a no-brainer. Without Willie, it would be tough for me to be sitting here today. I definitely think Willie should be a big part of this.”

O’Ree, who serves as the NHL’s director for youth development and ambassador for diversity, skated into hockey history on Jan. 18, 1958 when he played for the Bruins against the MontrealCanadiens at the old Montreal Forum.

A right wing, O’Ree appeared in 45 games over two seasons for the Bruins – 1957-58 and 1960-61 – and tallied 4 goals, 10 assists and 26 penalty minutes. Though his NHL career was brief, O’Ree enjoyed a lengthy minor league career, playing primarily for the SanDiego Gulls and the Los Angeles Blades of the old Western Hockey League.

O’Ree’s contribution to the game can be measured beyond goals and assists. He’s the godfather to players of color, from pee wees to the pros. It’s not unusual for minority NHLers, from rookies to veterans, to seek him out for advice.

“He’s my elder,” high-scoring Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds told reporters during an O’Ree visit to the team in 2015. “I treat him with respect and let him know I have a lot of admiration for him. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be playing the game today.”

Karl Subban – father of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, Bruins goaltending prospect Malcolm Subbanand Vancouver Canucks defense draftee Jordan Subban – once told me that if one of his boys felt they were wronged in the hockey world, he’d remind them of what O’Ree and Mike Marson, the NHL’s second black player, endured.

O’Ree isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he is in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame and the San Diego Hall of Champions. In 2007, he received the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

But Ward feels the time has come for the NHL to honor O’Ree by retiring his number, the same way Major League Baseball universally retired Jackie Robinson’s 42 in 1997. Ward wears 42 in honor of Robinson.

“It would be great if they did,” Ward told ESPN. “Obviously that’s something that would be a great discussion about. With the amount of respect Willie has around the league, it would definitely be something special if that did come up.”

Ward’s on the cusp of making hockey history himself. Either he or Penguins defenseman Trevor Daleywill be the next black player to have his name etched onto the Stanley Cup.

With the Stanley Cup Final opening Monday, here’s a little more black hockey trivia:

Traded to Pittsburgh by Chicago, defenseman Trevor Daley may get his name on the Stanley Cup.

There are only two black players in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Fuhr was inducted in 2003 and Angela James, regarded as one of Canada’s greatest female players, was inducted in 2010.

They will surely have company whenever Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla retires. Playing with the Avalanche, Penguins, Bruins and Calgary Flames, Iginla has tallied 661 goals, 662 assists and 1,273 PIMs in 1,474 NHL regular season games.

Iginla has 37 goals, 31 assists and 98 PIMs in 81 playoff games. He owns two Winter Olympics Gold Medals, earned in Vancouver in 2010 and Salt Lake City in 2002.

He also has gold from the 2004World Cup of Hockey and 1997International Ice Hockey Federation WorldChampionship.

Iginla, whose father is from Nigeria, will probably have the longest and coolest name on a Hall of Fame plaque if he choose to use the full handle: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla.

President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union address Tuesday and the NationalHockey League and the Washington Capitals hosted a screening Wednesday of a full-length documentary on the history and growing impact of blacks in ice hockey.

“Soul on Ice, Past, Present and Future” had its U.S. premiere before a near-capacity audience at Washington’s Landmark E Street Cinema with plenty of hockey star power on hand. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, Washington Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis and Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz were in the house.

Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player, former NHL goaltender/turned NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes, former NHL forward and current MSG Networks and NBCSN hockey analyst Anson Carter were there for a post-screening question and answer session that I had the honor to moderate.

“It’s a story that needed to be told, but not many people even imagined it could exist,” Bettman said of the documentary. “If you told somebody about this movie without actually seeing it, they’d think it was a work of fiction, like ‘how could it be because I’ve never heard of such a thing’ is what you get from most people.”

Canadian filmmaker Damon Kwame Mason was on hand to gauge a U.S. audience’s response to a film that he poured his heart, soul, and wallet into for the last four years. Mason was so committed to the project that the former disc jockey sold his condo to help fund it.

Mason hasn’t seen a paycheck in about three years, but he basked in a wealth of applause and appreciative remarks from the D.C. audience Wednesday night.

“The biggest thing that this screening means to me is all that hard work, all those midnights worrying, all that stressing out, all that wondering what’s going to happen the next day, it made me feel like it was all worth it,” he told me. “For a guy who dreamed about doing a film, and being in a position like this, is remarkable.”

The film tells the little-told story of blacks in hockey from the Coloured Hockey League in the Canadian Maritimes in the 1800s to the exploits of forward Herb Carnegie – regarded as the best Canadian hockey player never to skate in the NHL – to O’Ree breaking in with the Boston Bruins, despite being blind in one eye.

It gives a glimpse of the game’s future by following the path of OwenSound Attack forward Jaden Lindo from his Ontario Hockey League junior team to the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia. He was chosen by the Penguins in the sixth round of the draft with the 173rd overall pick.

Bettman and other NHL officials had seen the movie earlier, but Ken Martin, the league’s senior vice president of community and diversity programming, didn’t let O’Ree, who is the NHL’s director of youth development, get an early peek at Mason’s product.

Color of Hockey Editor William Douglas with The Bearded One – NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at “Soul on Ice, Past, Present and Future” screening in Washington, D.C.

When O’Ree watched his legacy on the big screen, the hockey pioneer who joined the Bruins in 1958, became emotional.

“Unbelievable,” he told NHL.com. “Now I know why he didn’t want me to see it. It was breathtaking, really. I was thrilled when I saw it.”

Trotz, who coached forward Joel Ward when he was with the Capitals and NashvillePredators, said the documentary was an eye-opener.

“What I liked about it is it was three stories for me – it was a history of the game, Kwame’s story, and it was young Jaden’s story,” Trotz told NHL.com. “There are some things that I feel ignorant on being someone in the game and not knowing all the story. It’s quite enlightening.”